What is known is that the game traveled from Ireland to England around 1851. A Miss MacNaghten observed peasants in France playing a game with a number of hoops made of willow rods and mallets of broomsticks inserted into pieces of wood. She was very quick to make the game her favorite and introduced it in Ireland.
Walter Jones Whitmore was a man who loved to play games and create inventions and in 1860 took up the game of croquet. Being a cunning gamesman, he soon realized that there were no real tactics or any set of rules. So he certainly fixed that and in 1866 he began a write a series of articles on tactics in "The Field". Two years later in 1868, he published them in book form including his own hand colored diagrams. In that publication he also discussed different types of strokes that a player could try. His dedication to evolving the game led to his recognition as the “father” of modern croquet.
In regards to the playing field, in England they needed to find a ground that would suit the game. It was in 1869 that a large area of four acres was leased in Wimbledon. Although croquet gained a little of a following, in 1874 there was a decline in the game among women who felt it had become too scientific! Unfortunately for croque, also in that year a different game was patented called Sphairistrike that was in fact lawn tennis. This new tennis style of game then swept the country within a year. In 1875 a number of Croquet fields were changed to allow people to start playing lawn tennis. Then the Tennis trend was so popular in 1877 the club name was changed to the “All England Croquet and Lawn Tennis Club”. Then sure enough in July 1877 the first lawn tennis championship was held at Wimbledon. So goes the story that croquet declined in popularity overshadowed by the ever growing tennis industry, which today is one of largest money making sports in the world. At least I have a few original early 1900 croquet clubs and hope to see you playing my version of the game.
Walter Jones Whitmore was a man who loved to play games and create inventions and in 1860 took up the game of croquet. Being a cunning gamesman, he soon realized that there were no real tactics or any set of rules. So he certainly fixed that and in 1866 he began a write a series of articles on tactics in "The Field". Two years later in 1868, he published them in book form including his own hand colored diagrams. In that publication he also discussed different types of strokes that a player could try. His dedication to evolving the game led to his recognition as the “father” of modern croquet.
In regards to the playing field, in England they needed to find a ground that would suit the game. It was in 1869 that a large area of four acres was leased in Wimbledon. Although croquet gained a little of a following, in 1874 there was a decline in the game among women who felt it had become too scientific! Unfortunately for croque, also in that year a different game was patented called Sphairistrike that was in fact lawn tennis. This new tennis style of game then swept the country within a year. In 1875 a number of Croquet fields were changed to allow people to start playing lawn tennis. Then the Tennis trend was so popular in 1877 the club name was changed to the “All England Croquet and Lawn Tennis Club”. Then sure enough in July 1877 the first lawn tennis championship was held at Wimbledon. So goes the story that croquet declined in popularity overshadowed by the ever growing tennis industry, which today is one of largest money making sports in the world. At least I have a few original early 1900 croquet clubs and hope to see you playing my version of the game.